Is Web 2.0 similar to Web 0.5?

by Dan Zambonini

This is pushing things a little, but there is some obvious correlation between the features offered in the very first internet applications, and those we see in the new "Web 2.0":

Collaboration Tools = Usenet/BBS (Bulletin Board Systems). Some of the old BBS software was far ahead of its time, letting people upload and download files, with message boards, email and real-time chat.

File-Sharing/Flickr = FTP/Gopher

Tagging = Meta Keywords

This could be seen as a step backwards, but it feels more like a step forwards. We're getting back to what the technology was originally built for, and removing some of the unnecessary fluff that got built in along the way. The Web interface is adding efficiency and consistency across these applications, letting them spread like wildfire. Maybe Web 2.0 is a more accurate moniker than I originally gave credit for.

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